by Chris Vargas
Photos by Warrior's Society--John Early, Barry Wood, Donald Jackson and Jordan May
 
For once it was not rain that threatened the Pow Wow, but fire instead. The fires of last October left its mark on the event, not so much by preventing us from staging it, but by limiting the participants from pre-running the 1st half of the course due to Closures. Luckily, the fire affected only a 1/4 mile section of Maple Springs Road near the top at Four Corners--but the rest of the course was spared.
 
The weather, though cold and misty, was perfect in the eyes of many of the participants due to the fact that hydration would not be as critical. Although it was cold and misty below the Main Divide Road the clouds rose no higher giving the participants some warmth while they were up and out of the canyons.
 
The roads were in the best shape ever because they were graded and compacted during and after the fires. The trails were also in the best shape ever as we did a tremendous amount of earthwork last fall and this winter. We had been forced to postpone earthwork for the past two years due to the lack of rain. The only trail with any real issues was the Silverado Trail because very little traffic had been down it since the fires and we needed to repair the damage that was done when the fire fighters dozed part of it as a fire break. In addition, the Forest Service placed two metal barricades on the lower part of the trail to prevent OHV's from accessing it. This necessitated us posting volunteers to warn participants of the barricade so they weren't surprised.
 
We had some great finishes in the event as well as a few records broken. In the Vision Quest (56.5 miles 11,500 feet of total elevation gain), and after playing bridesmaid to Cameron Brenneman for two years, Manny Prado crossed the finish line first only seconds off Cameron's record time. Manny is a great athlete and outstanding person and we were very happy to see him finally get the #1 plate with a finishing time of 5:07:35.
 
Monique "Pua" Sawicki continued her reign as the fastest women in the event with time of 6:10:30. John "Fuzzy" Mylne came in second after Manny and broke Cameron Brenneman's single speed record with a time of 5:36:59. Lynda Wallenfels also broke the female single speed record with a time of 6:22.23. Allen Louie was the first rigid single speed to cross the finish line with a time of 8:04.20. Greg Norombaba and Lisa Riehl set a new coed tandem record with a time of 8:34:47. We had a few Warrior's Society club members who wanted to try something different. Robert Rust did a bike-run-bike on the course riding to the first aid station, then running to aid station two, then getting back on his bike and riding the last third of the course. Robert finished with a time of 9:04.00. Calvin Mulder informally ran the course finishing at 11:04:16.

 
Debbie Brown was given the first of two special awards. Debbie had tried to finish the event last year to honor her friend and Trail Angel Kristy Kirkwood. Unfortunately she did not make the cut-off time and was heartbroken. This year she was determined to finish and after much training made the cut-off and finished the event. She was awarded the "Inspiration" award for putting so much heart into finishing the event and honoring Kristy.

 
COUNTING COUP
In the 44 mile Counting Coup event (with 8,000 of total climbing), Dustin Luton was the first back with a time of 4:20:56. The first female back was Susan Gibson with a new female record time of 5:54:56. Matt Ford, one of the owners of Rock N' Road Cyclery, did a  great job too finishing in third place with a time of 4:25:23.
 
15-year old Jantzen Oshier set a record for the youngest person ever to finish near the top with a fifth place finish and a time of 4:49:18. Eric Hunner set a new single speed course record with a time of 5:18:17.

 
10-year old Troy Sladeck added to the record he made last year when as a 9-old he became the youngest to finish the Counting Coup by finishing this year as the youngest participant to finish on a single speed with a time of 8:02:44.

 
In a feat of determination, despite severely breaking his wrist on Upper Holy Jim, Craig Kokesh refused to be DNF'ed and evacuated out. Instead Craig found the determination to descend down Upper and Lower Holy Jim and out Trabuco Creek Road to finish the event with a time of 7:00:51. Craig was awarded the "Determination Award" at the closing ceremonies. Doug from Geoladders accepted the award for Craig since he was at the emergency room having is wrist pinned.
 
It's the Vision Quest way.
 
VISION QUEST RESULTS
1. 05:07:35: Manuel Prado...26 years old
2. 05:36:59: John "Fuzzy" Mylne...33 (1st Single Speed)
3. 05:46:23: Todd Stephenson...44
4. 05:54:44: Mario Correa...38
5. 05:55:30: Nate Whitman...32
6. 05:57:09: Doug Andrews...46
7. 05:59:51: Guy Sutton...39
8. 06:03:42: Rich Bartlett...41
9. 06:03:54: Josh Jacquot...34
10. 06:09:21: Charly Kemp...37
11. 06:10:30: Monique Sawicki...28 (1st Women)
19. 06:22:23: Lynda Wallenfels...38 (1st Wmn Sgl Spd)
20. 06:25:17: Louise Kobin...39 (Wmn)
28. 06:46:25: Steve Timm...52 (1st 50+)
33. 06:50:48: Leslie Williams...32 (Wmn Single Speed)
42. 07:09:23: Christie Pleiss...31 (Wmn) 
61. 07:38:07: Ann Hall...40 (Wmn)
78. 08:04:20: Allen Louie...35 (1st single speed rigid)
88. 08:20:46: Kim Morse...34 (Wmn)
90. 08:24:15: Matthew Nourmohamadian...17 (1st jr; youngest finish)
94. 08:34:47: Lisa Riehl/Greg Norombaba...40 (1st tndm)
95. 08:35:26: Suzanne Wilson...42 (Wmn)
105. 08:48:54: Rachel Park...35 (Wmn)
106. 08:49:04: Stephanie Gaudreau...29 ( 10th Wmn)
116. 09:10:49: Scott Sampson...55 (oldest finisher)
120. 09:35:13: Debbie Brown...43 (oldest wmn finisher)
126. 11:04:16: Calvin Mulder...48 (1st Runner)
 
COUNTING COUP RESULTS
1. 04:20:56: Dustin Luton...38  years old
2. 04:22:30: Daniel Perez...31
3. 04:25:23: Matt Ford...38
4. 04:38:53: Jon Flagg...41
5. 04:49:18: Jantzen Oshier...15 (1st Junior)
6. 04:55:37: Jacob Ketterer...32
7. 04:57:11: Chris Messina...34 (1st Women)
8. 04:58:03: Scott Sease...36
9. 05:00:57: Gregory Hammond...29
10. 05:05:36: Keith Bowen...36 (Team Yamaha)
12. 05:18:17: Eric Hunner...29 (1st Single Speed--Rigid)
20. 05:38:08: Mike Dahlberg...50 (1st 50+)
25. 05:54:56: Susan Gibson...29 (Wmn)
29. 05:59:15: Annabelle Nenninger...42 (Wmn)
30. 05:59:59: Meredith Ford...33 (Wmn)
42. 06:21:04: Donna Vargas...43 (Wmn)
50. 06:38:46: Jasmine Scott...25 (Wmn)
58. 06:57:31: Stacy Chapman...41 (Wmn)
59. 06:57:54: Diane Parks...44 (Wmn)
60. 07:00:51: Craig Ortho Kokesh...(1st busted wrist)
63. 07:03:21: Michelle VanGilder...28 (Wmn)
67. 07:08:02: Shannon Black...28 (10th Wmn)
77. 07:23:23: Preston Drake...64 (oldest finisher)
99. 08:02:44: Troy Sladeck...10 (1st Jr Sng Spd)
105. 08:40:01: Rick Spencer...58 (oldest finisher)
117. 09:32:50: Meredith Peake...53 (oldest wmn finisher)